Microsoft's biggest enemies: Windows XP and IE 6

Win 2k is stuck with IE 6, plus add Office 2003 & earlier.

I suspect the users with IE6 can't upgrade because they still have Win2K. I think you can add earlier versions of MS Office to Microsofts enemies as well.

Does Xp desires correlate with high Netbook sales?

Quote:"There are plenty of XP users who won't buy new PCs because they don't want to give up XP."

Does this consumer desire to continue using Xp, maybe correlate, in any way, with the rapid acceptance of and huge numbers of Netbooks being sold?

I've been considering for some time, and since concluded, that since the arrival of Netbooks, one of the reasons that x86 Windows versions of them had taken off so explosively, was that they became the only "new" computers made available in the retail consumer market chain that shipped with XP.

Hence, these Xp Netbooks became an acceptable workaround for many who needed an new/other Laptop-type portable, but who were loathe to use that absolutely unusable POS, Vista OS, that was being foisted upon all, more powerful laptops and Desktops.

It will be interesting to see how this scenario plays out with severely limited Windows 7 (starter edition)on Netbooks if XP isn't even available on Netbooks anymore. Will the NetBook return rates suddenly do a flip-flop from GNU/ Netbooks having the higher return rates, to Win 7 units being returned in greater percentages because its Win7 Starter edition is practically useless. Which, at that point, makes any of the MS imposed, severely limited hardware spec'd Netbooks, a lesser value than purchasing a higher spec'd model with the better version of Win 7 already pre-installed.

If this assessment is in anyway correct, the ARM based Smartbooks (with their extreme battery life compared to X86) could have a real chance for taking over the sub-notebook market, almost in its entirety. After all, if you're going to finally have to use a non-windows operating System on your sub-notebooks, why note avail yourself of all of the additional portability benefits that come with ARM?

Theft?

"Every consumer and every enterprise that doesn't upgrade from XP represents money being taken out of Microsoft's pocket."

Bull.

As if our not upgrading from XP is stealing from Microsoft????

Real Men Use Windows 98

I'm still using Windows 98 and IE 4 and I've had no problem accessing websites- mainly because I only use the internet to access my hotmail account I created in 1999, and the only search engine I use is 37.com.

Well better head off, got to finish some research I'm doing using World Book 98.

!E8 is at best the trailing edge of modern browsers

"IE 8, by way of comparison, stacks up well to the most recent versions of Firefox."

Only if you are in the context of IE6 vs modern browsers, IE8 is still behind in several areas of speed, security (well they are reportedly comparable when they are the ones sponsoring the research and you ignore a few things), standards compliance ( no SVG, PNG still has some flaws, at least then now are close with the basics) and leading edge development into html 5 and css 3.

People are forced to use

People are forced to use IE6, typically in business environments, because Microsoft maliciously made a mockery out of HTML and pushed it into every corner of the business world. Everyone suffers under the IE(6)-only apps that break in IE8. Once the "genie" is out of the bottle, it is difficult to get it back in.

Microsoft caused this turmoil and now they have to deal with it. Both Vista and Windows 7 are poor excuses for wasting a total of nine years in development. The results are a dozen versions of the same OS that eats resources like dinosaur eats leafs, has a performance of a Yugo, but generate costs that rival a custom made Maserati. And which innovations do we get? UAC that covers up the still present security holes and Aero that doesn't work on most systems. Yay!

IE6 will be around for a long time, because Microsoft wanted it so. XP will be around for a long time, because Microsoft didn't produce anything after XP that is worthwhile to use. Microsoft is about to make itself irrelevant out of pure greed and arrogance. We can only hope that this will put them out of business. But as long as web developers still make IE only apps and corporate IT departments still waste money on Microsoft monocultures nothing will change.

You want change? Stop buying Microsoft!

XP isn't exactly free

Microsoft makes money on all products it sells,
so what's the big deal whether it sells XP or
7? Last time I looked, XP pro retails for $239 on Amazon.

Real men still use Windows

Real men still use Windows 2000.